Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Here we are in the first official week of summer! With it
being summer, that means another awesome eight weeks of Hofstra New Student Orientation! Having just wrapped up our second session, our program is in full
swing and our lovely O-Staff is so excited to continue to welcome Hofstra's class of 2018! Orientation offers an amazing opportunity for incoming
first-year students to make connections here at Hofstra before they get to campus
in the fall. Our program is a vital part
of joining student life here at Hofstra. Throughout the three days here, not
only will you make friends and connections that will last throughout your four
years, but you’ll get hooked up with all of the on-campus resources you could
think of! You’ll get to meet with your Advisement Dean who’ll help you create
the schedule that’s right for you for your fall semester and every year after,
as well as meet with clubs and organizations at our club fair! At orientation,
you ‘ll meet a ton of people who are excited to welcome you to Hofstra, and no
one will be more excited than your 2014 staff of New Student Orientation Leaders. Our wonderful staff is a
group of twenty Hofstra students who are here to help you find your way here at Hofstra, and one of them will be your personal guide to everything you need to know about Hofstra from the perspective of an experienced student. They are your Hofstra experts,
and are willing help you with anything you need! We’re here to make your time
here this summer fun, and more importantly, we’re here to ease you into life as
a Hofstra student. We’re so excited to be able to show you everything we have
planned to welcome this new class to the Pride! See you all soon!

Friday, June 20, 2014

With
summer in full swing, Hofstra students are no doubt working hard and keeping
busy with their summer jobs, internships, and classes. There is no exception
for the student employees in the Office of Student Leadership and Activities.
The 2014 Orientation Staff is hard at work facilitating eight summer sessions
of New Student Orientation for the Class of 2018 as well coordinating a sensational
Welcome Week for the new undergraduate students!

After attending a 3-day long
orientation during the summer, new students will be able to look forward to
Welcome Week! This is a week-long event that runs from Thursday, August 28th
– Monday, September 1st. New and transfer residential students have
the opportunity to move in to their residence halls several days before the
rest of the student body, and then alongside the commuting and off-campus
living members of new class, are able to transition into the community and
Hofstra life before the forthcoming new school year begins.WelcomeWeek is composed of five exciting days of programs which aim to facilitate the
Class of 2018’s transition into Hofstra’s academic life, culture, traditions
and community, alongside exposing students to theexcitingdiversity
present on campus and in the surrounding areas. The activities occurring within
the week will encompass all things Hofstra and will introduce students to the myriad of Hofstra campus resources readily available to them, which can be utilized by everyone! New students will even have the opportunity to head in to the metropolitan New York area over the weekend through the Explore Next Door (END) trips.

Hard at Work

Beyond END Trips students can anticipate a number of
amazing and unique events that will ensure a fun and memorable first week at
Hofstra! The New Student Barbecue, Class of 2018 Celebration, and Student
Center Boardwalk are only a few of the events planned where new
students will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with the "Hofstra Pride". They can also cheer on the Hofstra athletics teams and show their
Hofstra pride during any one of the number of sports events scheduled
throughout this week. New undergraduates will have chance to see how
they can get involved on campus when they meet the over-200 student clubs and organizations at the Welcome Week Club Fair!

Monday, June 16, 2014

As the Summer quickly approaches and is within a few days reach, life at the Fitness Center tends to slow down. While the activity in the building is quite lighter than the norm this time of year, it becomes the perfect time for the Fitness Center staff to reflect, assess, and brainstorm new ideas for the upcoming academic year.

New events. New Intramural Sports. New Club Sports. New Group Exercise Classes. New ways to promote events and programs. New ways to improve all programs. New ideas to improve the Hofstra Fitness Center, and overall, make this a place where everyone in the Hofstra community can enjoy their experiences to the fullest. Like our Department Director, Pat Montagano, says, "Keep it fresh!"

With "fresh" in mind, the Department of Recreation & Intramural Sports has already decided that we will feature Indoor Lacrosse as a new Intramural Sport this Fall. The new sport will be joined by Flag Football, Volleyball, and Indoor Soccer in the Fall. Additionally, the Department plans to feature tournaments such as the 2nd Annual Hofstra Against Hunger Basketball Tournament and is brainstorming ideas to possibly host Softball, Badminton, Pickle-Ball, and European Handball tournaments. Perhaps we host a Home Run Derby. As we plan all of our activities, one of our goals is to have our Club Sports host events as well. For example, maybe Ice Hockey and Roller Hockey can host a floor hockey shootout or tournament together. Men's and Women's Ultimate Frisbee can host a tournament. The Billiards Club. And so on.

Following our 'test run' of hosting Open Rec Indoor Soccer and Volleyball weekly in the Fitness Center this past Spring, we will determine a new schedule of Open Rec sports we would like to host this upcoming Fall. While the basketball courts tend to stay busy on a daily basis, even during the summer hours, we would like to continue to offer other Open Rec sports that our patrons can enjoy throughout the academic year. As for Group Exercise Classes, Zumba currently takes place on Mondays at 5:30pm and Yoga on Wednesdays at 5:30pm until August 13.

We will soon determine the entire class schedule for the upcoming Fall semester. New classes? What's a popular new class that we can feature? More morning classes? Stay tuned!

One new feature we began last week takes place during the New Student Orientations on Tuesday nights at the Fitness Center. As the group of new students visits the facility from 8:00-9:00pm, our club sports members set up informational tables throughout the gymnasium where new students can visit, meet, and speak with members of the club sports that he or she may be interested in. This is a great way for our clubs to recruit new members and also allows new students to discover new programs that he or she may be interested in joining and develop a relationship with the particular club.

Whatever it may be, our Department wants the participation level to continue to grow. It is our goal to work with other departments on campus and figure out ways to continually increase the participation in club sports, intramural sports, group exercise classes, events, and Fitness Center facilities. But, we not only want the participation to increase. We want to offer quality programs and give everyone a memorable experience. And, of course, we want to do all of this while keeping it 'fresh'.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

In my three years at Hofstra, community service has become
an integral part of my life. During my first year I stumbled upon the Discovery Program which is run through The Office of Student Leadership and Activities (OSLA). It was hands down one of the single
best opportunities I have had here at Hofstra. OSLA offers all kinds of programs that
will not only help you connect on campus, but prepare you for the future as
well. The OSLA staff is
incredibly supportive and has encouraged me to get involved in degrees I never
imagined.

After completing the Discovery Program, an incredible community service-based program for first year students,
I learned about multiple opportunities on and off campus that I took advantage
of and have opened many doors for me. My experience in community service began
well before my arrival at Hofstra, through volunteer work with SpecialOlympics. When I learned that Hofstra did not have a club or organization in
support of Special Olympics, I went through OSLA and started a club of my own,
Hofstra Goes for Gold. Through
our largest fundraising event, Jail & Bail, we have raised $21,837 in three
years, which has directly sponsored Special Olympics athletes. I am very
proud of this accomplishment and my group.

The OSLA programs
attract the kind of student who wants to get involved and chooses to give
back. So many of these
people have done amazing things and are truly inspirational to me. These programs have allowed me to make
many friends that I might not have met otherwise. Making friends outside of
class is invaluable because it allows you to make connections with all kinds of
interesting people in other majors and fields, which will help you in your
future profession no matter what you plan on doing.

Jenny raising money for Special Olympicsat Jail and Bail, March 2014

I have also
developed incredible relationships with faculty members and administrators, for
which I am truly grateful. Without
these connections, I would not have been as successful in my endeavors at
Hofstra as well as in my field. In
my experience, community service is an amazingly fun and rewarding way to
become involved on campus as well as make lifelong friends.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

One of the highlights for me of the Spring semester was to have the ability to showcase my culture to Hofstra students. On April 24, The Multicultural and International Student Programs and the Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services took students to a Peruvian Restaurant, La Candela in West Hempstead.

The goal of this Flavor event was to have students taste Peruvian cuisine and learn more about one of the diverse communities of Long Island. Peruvian cuisine reflects local practices and ingredients—including influences from the indigenous Inca and cuisines brought in with immigrants such as Spanish cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Italian cuisine, German cuisine, Japanese cuisine and African influences. Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the best in South America, particularly, because of the fusion of the different influences.

La Candela offered the students with a variety of Peruvian dishes that the students were able to enjoy. The dishes were Lomo Saltado, Tallarines Verdes, Aji de Gallina and Ceviche de Pescado.
Lomo Saltado is a popular, traditional Peruvian dish, a stir fry that typically combines marinated strips of sirloin, or other beef steak, with onions, tomatoes, and other ingredients, served with fried potato slices and rice.

Tallarines Verdes (Green Linguini) a pesto-like sauce made from both spinach and basil. The sauce also has lots of queso fresco cheese, and is creamier than traditional pesto sauce. Serve these delicious noodles as a main course and as a side dish to accompany steak or chicken.
Aji de Gallina is a dish is a native of Peru, is a chili or thick cream made by previously cooked hen, crumbled into a cream made of yellow pepper (naturally grown from Peru) To achieve the necessary thickness pieces are added bread soaked in broth or milk . This cream is served with boiled potatoes or white rice.

Last dish served was ceviche. In Peru, ceviche was declared to be part of Peru's "national heritage" and has even had a holiday declared in its honor. The classic Peruvian ceviche is composed of chunks of raw fish, marinated in freshly squeezed key lime or bitter orange (naranja agria) juice, with sliced onions, chili peppers, salt and pepper.

The students were able to enjoy amazing service and great food and a taste of one of the best cuisines in South America.